


Rooftop Conversations

by TheChildOfDreams



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Kinda, This was written for my friend's au, cause i literally love it, it just isnt relevent, lauriam is mentioned a couple of times but he doesn't appear, nicer vanitas, other then the fact that van has vens memories, this is also techncially traitor ven, vaugly sad strelitzia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23037091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheChildOfDreams/pseuds/TheChildOfDreams
Summary: Strelitzia used the rooftop as an escape. Vanitas just so happened to get there before she did.
Relationships: Strelitzia & Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Rooftop Conversations

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [the black sheep and the vibrant flower](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23032549) by [SbAntimony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SbAntimony/pseuds/SbAntimony). 



> Ahhhhhh I love my friend so much,,,, and as much as I'd love to gush about them and their au, thats not really what your here for so! 
> 
> Just to set up, this is a few weeks after my friend's fic, so they're much more comfortable with eachother.

Strelitzia was silent as she slipped down the hallway, splitting from the group of her brother and his friends as though she'd never been a part of it in the first place. And honestly, in her opinion, it felt like she never had. She loved her brother, and knew he loved her too, but they'd been apart for years. Thousands of years, not to mention the entire life he'd had without her. And, although she hated to admit it, that created a rift that felt uncrossable. Something that made conversation awkward and stilted, like two friends trying to rekindle something that had been lost to time.

So, more often then not, she'd found herself trying to escape. Torn between wanting to be in her brothers presence, to make up for lost time, and wanting to be as far from their loud, intimidating group that she felt viewed her as a burden. Which led her to becoming very familiar with slipping away into the darker halls of the palace. Out of sight, and out of mind.

Of course, the empty halls were only so entertaining after the first week or so. There were only so much you could do alone, after all, and she'd already done it all in her first lifetime. So, surprising no one (from her time, at least), she'd taken to sneaking out a window and onto the odd, slanted bridge-like connectors that spanned between the castle's towers. It was difficult at first, sure, but a well timed aero easily fixed that.

And her brother and his friends were none the wiser.

Strelitzia liked it up high. She'd always had, even way back before the war when it had been only her and her brother. The wind and sun on her face, unobstructed by buildings and trees, and the way everything looked so different down below enamored her. She felt powerful, as through nothing could stop her, but also small. With the sky so vast above her, she couldn't help but realize of how tiny of a heart she really was. How no matter how strong she could get, nothing would make her stronger then the heart of the world she lived in. It was very humbling, she supposed.

Though, thinking that way made her feel old.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she pushed her usual escape open, checking one last time that the basket on her back was secure. The basket was full of flowers, all grown by herself, that she planned to preserve to use as bookmarks, or gifts for the others. Normally a task she'd do in her room, but her brother had grabbed her on her way back from the gardens and she didn't want to risk him just pulling her right back out of her room if she fled there. So, to the roof she went. Slipping her legs over the edge, she cast a little aero as she dropped, boosting herself up to the roof where she landed with practiced ease. 

Only to find someone else was already up there.

"Oh! Vanitas, fancy to see you up here." The girl greeted, unperturbed by the boy lingering in the shadow cast by the neighboring tower. Instead, she simply dusted off her sundress and set the basket at her feet.

Vanitas only hummed in acknowledgement, turning his head to watch as she knelt and began to pull out and sort the flowers. "So this is where you escape off to, hm?" He asked after a moment of silence, tone surprisingly curious.

Strelitzia gave him a nod, shifting to sit now that she's sorted all her flowers out. "Mhm. It's my own little paradise, you could say." 

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. "You could fall and die, you know."

Letting out a little laugh, Strelitzia waved him off, flower in hand. "That's what makes it exciting! There's something exhilarating about how high it is."

That made Vanitas pause. "Weird. Woulda thought you'd be the type to be afraid of heights."

"With my union? I never would've survived if I had. Us leopards used air magic on the daily." Strelitzia hummed, tone turning to something fonder and nostalgic as she separated the bundle in hand. "Luckily I was born with a love of the sky."

Vanitas nodded, letting the conversation trail off into silence before it became too gushy and reminisce-y for him. Instead, he opted to watch her work. Separating the flowers into a row, Strelitzia carefully took one at a time, whispering a little spell that caused the flower to dry right before his eyes. Then she'd set it to the side, methodically picking up the next one and repeating the process. 

At first, she was silent as she did it. Although, after only a few minutes, Vanitas was able to pick up her soft humming, as though she was trying to hide it. Shaking his head, he decided to speak back up, curious.

"How are you doing that?" 

Strelitzia flinched, looking startled as his words broke through her trance. "Ah? What do you mean?" 

"The thing where you dry the flowers. Is it a spell?" 

"Mhm." Strelitzia nodded, smile growing on her face at his curiosity. "Although, not one that's really known. I made it up." She explained, looking proud. 

Vanitas cocked his head. "You made it up?"

"Well, sorta. It's like.. A tweaked version of the standard air spell. And anti-aero, if you will." Picking up another flower, Strelitzia demonstrated the spell. "Basically, it'll suck out air instead of creating it. I couldn't ever figure out how to make it all that strong, although I didn't mind because it was never really meant for combat. I created it so I could dry flowers faster, after all." 

"That explains why I didn't know it." Vanitas mused. 

Strelitzia nodded. "You could say the technique died with me."

"How uncharacteristically dark of you." Vanitas hummed, a teasing note to his words. 

"You're not the only one allowed to be edgy here, Vanitas." Strelitzia teased back, only a little bit hesitant. 

"Touche." Barking out a laugh, Vanitas shifted closer so that he was sitting right at the edge of where the tower's shadow met the sunlight. Then he smirked, looking Strelitzia in the eyes. "So. Why don't you teach me that dead spell of yours, little bird?" 

Despite being (mostly) used to Vanitas' taunts and teases by now, his actions still managed to make Strelitzia flush in embarrassment. "Yea yea, sure. Whatever you say." She responded, attempting to be nonchalant as she scooted closer to the line between the sunlight and shadow as well. Then, reaching to take another flower, she began to explain.

The little lesson didn't take too long, Vanitas being quite the fast learner, but that didn't mean it went completely as planned. More often than not, Strelitzia found herself distracted by her companion goofing off or trying to mess with her, causing her to veer off course and lose her train of thought. She enjoyed it, though. Despite how many times they had to restart, it was hard for herself to find it annoying. Instead, it was just... really fun. 

It was the most fun she'd had in awhile.

After teaching him the spell, she'd managed to drag him into helping her with her flowers. And, although not as organized as she had been, he made the task go by much faster then it would've on her own. Meaning, instead of having to work into the night, they finished just as the sun was starting to set.

"Thanks again for helping me, Vanitas." Strelitzia hummed as she bundled the now dried flowers back up, very carefully setting them back into the basket.

"That wasn't me helping, you still have to pay me, remember?" Vanitas teased, lips turned back into a smirk. 

"Oh- right, how could I ever forget." Giggling, Strelitzia set the basket to the side before turning back to her companion. "Thanks again for working for me at the low price of homemade brownies."

"Anytime!" 

Letting a comfortable silence fall over the two with another giggle, Strelitzia let her gaze linger on Vanitas for a moment longer before turning to look up at the dimming sky. Vanitas was very interesting, she concluded after a moment of thought. She didn't know what it was about him. There was just something that intrigued her, something familiar about the way he acted but also completely foreign. It was as if he was wearing a mask to hide himself, but she couldn't figure out what was real and what was just another part of the mask.

It made her want to get closer to him, surprisingly. She'd always wanted friends, yes, but normally the thought of the intimacy created by getting closer to others made her stomach churn. But not with him. She supposed it was because they were both pretty similar, loners dropped into a time that wasn't their own, surrounded by people that they felt didn't really want them around, but she wasn't sure. No matter how many times she thought about it, she never was sure. And that uncertainty is what held her back.

All she could tell from her hours of wondering was that they had a connection, be it good or bad. Although, she would admit she hoped it was good.

Regardless of all that, however, she was very grateful to have him as a friend. It was nice, having someone to talk to that wasn't her brother or overly excited like Sora. Someone that was calmer, and wouldn't get annoyed if she rambled on about something for way too long (Although, he would tease her afterwards. Not that she minded though, cause at least if he can tease her with it it meant he was actually listening.).

Letting out a sigh, Strelitzia let her thoughts drift away like the light that had filled this world only a half an hour ago. "The stars are really pretty." She said after a moment, glancing over to Vanitas as she spoke. "I stay up to see them every night, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of them. It's just so amazing that every single one of them is a world of its own, like this one."

Vanitas blinked. "I guess you're right."

"Right? It means, to the other worlds, we're a star right now!" Gushing a little bit, Strelitzia turned her gaze back up to the sky, laying back so she could just take it all in. "It really puts things in perspective. Cause, to our world, something big will be nothing to the other worlds. And for all we know, they could be doing something big themselves. But because we're disconnected, we wouldn't."

Sighing again, a small smile appeared on her face as she continued to ramble. "It's so much different then back in daybreak town. Because, back then, if something big happened, it happened to everyone. Everyone knew, and everyone could help. But it also meant there was more at fault if it got worse." Raising an arm, she pointed up at the sky, absentmindedly tracing little shapes in the stars. "A double sided coin, if you will. Full of cons and pros, good and bad, light and dark. Makes it hard to decide whether living split like this was for the better or not."

Vanitas was silent again, staring down at the girl with a bit of an unreadable expression. Only when he turned his face back to the sky did he speak. "You sure do think a lot."

"I guess I do." Strelitzia hummed, letting her arm fall to the side. "But if you ask me, I think living split was a good idea. It gives the worlds more room to grow, and be themselves. Less conforming and less loss if something bad did happen. I just wish there was better communication, instead of the strict no ruining the world order rule."

"...maybe you're right."

"Maybe I am." Yawning, Strelitzia's eyes drooped, slipping closed as the silence dragged on. Although the sun had just set around fifteen minutes ago, she'd worked all morning in the garden. Which meant, now that she was lazing around, she'd been hit with a wall of exhaustion. And, because it was dangerous to do magic while this tired, it also meant she'd have to sleep on the roof. Not something she was a stranger to, but not exactly pleasant without a blanket.

Reaching up to undo her pigtails, she spoke up again in an attempt to wake herself up. "Do you like stars, Vanitas?"

Vanitas stayed silent, though, gaze still glued on the sky above.

But, right as she drifted into sleep, Strelitzia could've sworn she heard him say, "Now I do."

And if she woke up on the roof that morning with a blanket over her, well, that'll just be their little secret.


End file.
